On Friday 10 and Saturday 11 March, Stirling-based skaters, Katie Ferguson, 19, and Eilidh Thomson, 18, made history with their synchronized skating team, Solway Stars.
The girls skated alongside fourteen other teammates as part of the first ever Scottish team to represent Great Britain in the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships which took place in Angers, France. Solway Stars set a new British Junior World PB and placed 15th out of a total of 23 ISU teams.
Katie and Eilidh are long-standing members of Starlight Synchro Club, based in Stirling. It’s here that they first developed their passion for Synchronized Skating.
For the past few years, every week, Katie and Eilidh have also travelled to Dumfries Ice Bowl to train with their Dumfries- based teammates, Solway Stars.
Being part of the first Scottish team to compete in the ISU World Junior Championships was a dream come true. The atmosphere from the skaters and the crowd was amazing. Everyone was so supportive. The feeling of stepping out on to the ice to represent your country with all your teammates has to be one of the best feelings.
Katie’s ice-skating journey began at the age of 10, with Active Stirling and joined the Skate UK Learn to skate programme at The PEAK.
To represent Great Britain is a dream come true and a feeling I will never forget. Stepping on to the ice with my teammates was magical and to know you get to share the experience with your friends is amazing. The competition was nothing like I have ever experienced before. All the skaters were so supportive, and the crowd was ecstatic.
Congratulations to you both on competing in your first World Junior Championships. It is an incredible achievement, and we are so proud to see representatives from our Stirling clubs shine so brightly out on the World Stage.
If you would like to join Active Stirling’s Learn to skate programme, visit here.